Faithful Followers

Monday, September 24, 2007

When will the ABC World News show air?The producers probably saw the footage shot at my house and decided it was just too bad to show on national t.v. and the tape now sits in the recycling bin.Actually, I still don't know. I'll post about it on my blog as soon as I find out.

Why does it take a year and a half for your blog to load?I have no idea! It does the same thing for me. In fact most blogs on blogspot.com take a long time to load for me. My suggestion is to click on my blog then go pick up the cereal on the floor, change the laundry, throw something in the crockpot, refill your coffee cup (adding Bailey's Irish Creme is optional), unload the dishwasher and try to figure out why you're suddenly missing eight spoons. When you return to your desk, it should be fully loaded.

What is wrong with the first people who commented on your post last night?Nothing at all. As soon as I published my post, I realized I'd messed up and I went back to edit it. The pictures without the captions showed up for them which is why they thought it was a riddle. What does a snake skin, a big orange ball, and a wad of tangled up hair have in common? The answer, of course, is - my kids spent the afternoon with dad! Need I say more?

Do you really teach your kids to read in the bathtub?Yes, I teach them to read in the bathtub as much as I teach them to run with scissors, put nailpolish on the t.v., and dart across the street without first checking for traffic.

Can you show us a picture of your daughter's impromptu haircut?I can't right now because she's sleeping. I guess I passed my cold onto her. I had to pick her up early from school today because she had a fever and a croupy cough. The poor school nurse. Every time she calls me, I answer in a less than enthusiastic, "Which kid is it this time?" My middle son just likes to visit the nurse, I think. She now has strict instructions from me as to how to deal with him when he walks into her office. She's to ask him, "Are there any bones protruding from your skin? Are you unconscious? No? Then go back to class. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200." Seriously, she's a very sweet woman and I don't blame my son for wanting to go hang out in her office every now and then.

How can I find out more about your book?Well, it's going to be written on paper. I'm pretty sure it will have a title. Oh and a cover! It will definitely have a cover. That's about all I know right now, but I've got a little form on the right side of my blog where you can feel free to sign up for information about the book.

You mentioned moms whose husbands work long hours and moms whose husbands are deployed. What about us single moms?I didn't intentionally omit the single moms. Of course it would be difficult for single moms to find some "me time" every day, or even every month, I imagine. So to every stay-at-home mom, working mom, work-from-home mom, work-from-home dad, stay-at-home dad, working dad, grandparent, godparent, single parent, married parent, living together in some sort of arrangement parent, mom of few kids, mom of many kids, anyone with the letters M, O, and M in their names, and anyone else I might have forgotten about, pat yourselves on the back! You're doing a very important job and you're awesome! Repeat after me, I'm good enough and I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me.

Will you be doing a book give-away like the one you just did when your book comes out? I'm sure I will! :)

Why do you make your smiley faces with a semi-colon instead of a colon, like this :)? Huh? Smileys? Ohhhh, so that's what those are? I had no idea. I just thought that was a fun way to punctuate a sentence.

P.S. If I was going to make a smiley, I'd use a colon. If I was going to make a winking smiley, I'd use a semi-colon. ;) Got it?

That banana looks familiar. Did you steal it from my car? Ummm yes. Yes, that's what I do in my spare time. I break into other people's vehicles and steal decomposing fruit because I just don't find quite enough of that stuff in my own house.

Now it's time for me to ask a question. A few of you have said that you've given me an award and to visit your blog to get it. That's so very sweet and thoughtful of you! However, I'm really slow here. Explain in simple "a 2 year old could understand" terms as to what I'm supposed to do with it. I'm sorry, but I'm just not familiar with this. Remember I just started this blog a couple months ago. Thank you for your help!

Because September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, I want to post he following text taken from an article written by Brian and Stacey Ledwon.

Childhood cancer is not fair. It is not fair to the children that suffer from it each and every day. It is not fair to parents who try to do what is best for their children under extremely difficult circumstances. It is not fair to siblings that have their life suddenly turned upside down. Our family knows firsthand how ugly childhood cancer is, as our 5-year old daughter Lindsey has been battling a rare brain cancer since September 2004. Did you know:

• 12,500 children will be diagnosed with cancer this year

• Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children under 15

• 2,300 children will die from cancer this year

• Incidence of cancer among children in the United States is rising about 1 percent each year, however, survivorship is also rising

• 1 in every 330 Americans develop cancer before the age of 20

I have a button on the right side of this blog for St. Jude's Research Hospital. If you are able, please consider making a donation. One dollar makes a difference. Think of how many people have read this blog this past month. There have been nearly a million hits! Imagine a dollar, just ONE dollar per hit. Wow!

71 comments:

Oh I just can't get enough of this! I had seen some of those questions and had the same answers in my head immediately after I read it (kinda like right after I found your blog and saw that someone made the comment something like, "when I saw you had written '20 months pregnant...', I knew you meant 20 weeks.." and I immediately thought, "No she didn't!" and then it continued on to say something to the effect of, "Can you imagine being pregnant that long?" to which I thought, "I think that is exactly what she was imagining...that is exactly how you can sometimes feel that far in pregnancy!" I'm sorry to keep yapping on here but I am drawing just so much joy in the fact that I'm not the only one with these witty little comebacks running in my head, and occasionally out of my mouth!!! KEEP IT UP...but always remember to keep enjoying it without burning out from the demand that surely can come with such success!

Dawn,haha! I can't believe some of the questions people ask. That's too funny! BTW...I found a banana just like yours on top of my fridge today. I thought of you and laughed. ah, and then I left it there. I can't wait to get phone calls from the school nurse. I'm gonna give her your word for word instructions to my little sickly. Have a good night!!

Your blog brings such a smile to my face every day! I am a mom to 4 boys and I really can empathize with you.

I really want to thank you for bringing attention to childhood cancer. My youngest son, now age 10, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor inside his spinal cord in his neck four years ago this Oct. 1st. The tumor, though it isn't actually in his brain, is a brain tumor, but it is a very slow growing one. They did surgery four years ago, were able to get around 90% of it, and so far it hasn't begun to grow again. We return this October for MRIs to make sure it still hasn't grown this last year. But yes, when the doctor calls and says, "It's a tumor," and the oncologist says, "It's malignant," it pretty much sucks your breath right out of you. We did not go to St. Jude's, but instead went to Children's Mercy in Kansas City. I just really wanted to say, as the mom to a child with cancer, thank you so much for sharing, and for encouraging your readers to contribute, because the financial costs can seem insurmountable, and St. Jude's is the answer to many families' prayers.

my 12 yr old wanted to stay home from school with a headache today. i reminded her that unless she was vomiting or had explosive diarrhea she was not going to stay home...i mean really, i have a headache almost everyday...it's life get over it kid!

i am a new fan to your blog and i am loving the stories you share.

thanks for posting on my blog...i love when other people surf over and leave a note...its so fun!!(my frog hunting, glossed and polished daughter loved it too)...

Dawn Thank you, I have been in the process of adopting a little boy from China and during your rise to fame was the lowest point for us. Our agency was concerned that it was taking so long to get our approval and had warned us that there was a 50/50 chance our son would be ours. Well you actually made me laugh when I wanted to cry and for that thank you. Please if you ever get the chance look at my blog and see my kiddos. This is our 3rd and probibly last adoption (from China) Yes our blonde is Chinese :) Bekah in Madisonville KY

I had wondered about the "teaching them to read in the bathtub" thing, too. It made sense to me, because I read in the tub, I just didn't as a young child. I've passed your blog on to my daughter, so she'll have an idea what to (maybe) expect when her daughter gets a little older. She and her hubby want another baby or two, so life will be interesting.

Thanks for entertaining us! I look forward to the World News Tonight thing.kimikki :0)

Dawn,You are doing an excellent job with your blog. I love reading it. If I miss a day, I feel like something is missing. I can totally relate to sarcasm and exageration! Reading in the bathtub? Well...my kids think it's okay since Mommy does it! But I don't get the books wet, they do!

Thank you for making mention of the stay at home dads. For me , especially in the small town that I am in, we are not looked upon as "real men". For me there is nothing more "real" than taking care of your family's needs day to day. So cheer to you and and all the other stay at homers out there. Be them Male Female Young Old Single Married One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

Hi Dawn, I wondered if you actually read all your comments since you have very little free time...I have 4 kids and it's hard to come by...apparently you do. This is good to know, since now I'm pretty sure I'm not just sitting here typing to myself like all the times I'm with my husband and kids in a room and obviously talk to myself since it seems no one notices a word I say.I think it's great that you bring attention to serious issues too. I have a brother in law with cancer and it's devastating to see what they have to go through...I thank God that my children are o.k.

Your blog loads very quickly for me :) That's great that you have the St Jude's link on the side. My friend's son was diagnosed with a rare Lukeimia last January and just got a bone marrow transplant last week. Hopefully it will be his miracle. He is 8 yrs old. His 4 yr old brother was his donor.

Hmmm ... calls from the school nurse/clinic .... "Ms. M, we have your daughter A (youngest) here, she's all right, she just got stung by a bee", "Ms. M, we have your daughter A here, she's all right, she just got whacked on the head by a classmate", "Ms. M, we have your daughter A here, she's all right, she just has a nose bleed (mysterious and out of the blue ... she gets these)" ... my oldest daughter D must have a force field around her because I only got called if she was truly sick. Unfortunately she is so very like me and I am the only one in my family that has broken bones or needed stitches. I'm hoping her mojo holds out and she doesn't go there.

I hope the Ellen Show calls you soon. I think you two would be hysterical on an interview. Yeah, I put a call plug in to them. I'll stop now so you can get some rest. ;)

Hi, I'm a new reader. I just discovered your blog a couple of days ago and already I've finished reading all your entries! It's just so entertaining and fun to read. I'm going to recommend it to my mom. I'm sure she will enjoy reading this stuff because it will surely remind her of when we were still little. We used to cry a lot if we wanted to get our parents to buy us something when we went grocery shopping. It was a nightmare. We would not stop until they bought us what we wanted. Of course it worked every time because my parents didn't want to attract too much attention from other people ;) It used to be our weapon for some time until mom found out ways to shut us up - by ignoring us. Tired of bawling too hard, we would fall asleep and it was like heaven to our parents. So, when we learned that our weapon was no longer useful, we stopped it just like that. Can't fool mom too long, huh?

Dawn,Just an FYI ... The minimum donation for St. Judes through the button is $10. So if people skip Starbucks twice and take a bag lunch from home once instead of going out for lunch, a donation to St. Judes can be made.

I'm glad my kids are happy and healthy but one never knows what the future will bring and how your life will be touched.

Just to leave a more technical response to one of your questions - your blog is probably sloooow due to all the traffic. As the writer, I'm really not sure if there's a solution. For the readers: I signed up all of my favorite blogs on the Googlereader.com and just read them all there. I'm not sure how that effects the blog's stats, but to me it's like having my "morning newspaper" and tea - only better. :) (hmm..think I could get google to pay me for the endorsement?)

Hi, I read ur blog when ever u update and while it's loading I actualy walk away and do some work. Thanks for letting me know that it's not only me. Keep up the good entertaining work, looking forward to your book.

Sara thought you might enjoy checking out this blog on MySpace.com! You don't have to join MySpace.com to view the blog. Just use the link below. http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&friendID=68689870

My Crockpot has been on all night. Of course it ruined my hubbys sleep though. He went to bed on a very light meal since we are dieting. So the smell of yummy food cooking all night kept him awake. SO warning do not use crockpot all night if you have a hungry hubby trying to sleep next to you. As always fun being here!!Stacey

Perhaps some of your blog readers saw my comment about a few of my parenting policies. One of them was about not interrupting me on the phone or in the bathroom unless it was blood, fire, or head injury (broken bones protruding through skin applies to the blood section; fevers of over 105 qualify for fire).

I didn't, however, have the nerve to ask the school nurses to follow same policy. So, for years, I charmingly fielded the calls as they came. Most of them were of no dire emergency or were blatant "crying wolf."

My breezy attitude was suddenly suspended one day when the call I expected to be about some minor TOOTH problem turned out to go something like:

THEM: . . .don't get upset. . . she's all right. . . she's in the emergency room now. . . she is stable. . .ME: WHAT!!??THEM: Well, um, she got hit in the head with a javelin.

Yep, that qualified for my immediate attention.

Luckily, it was older equipment, and that particular javelin was missing its POINT. So, in actual fact, she only ended up with some temporary blurred vision and having some sense knocked either into her or out of her. Nine years later, I'm still not sure which it is.

Well, as to the awards you've been given... you just go to the blog that awarded it to you, copy the piture of the award, then put it on your blog and award it to others. You can then go to the blogs of those you awarded and tell them. Don't forget to leave a comment thanking the person who awarded you... or leave it in your award to others. It'a a fun way to feel good about yourself and then let others feel good too. have a wonderful day!

I am glad that you brought up childhood cancer. There is a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma that has the lowest survival rate of any childhood cancer. A little girl named Grace Oughton is battling her second bout with this cancer. There is no "cure" for a relapse but they are going to continue to fight it. Her father is biking across America to raise money for a potentially like saving treatment that has been deemed "unprofitable" by the drug companies. Please help him and the other families in their fight- http://www.graceoughtoncancerfoundation.org/loneliestroad/

I realized you might not be able to view my myspace blog, so here's to a mom that understands...(my kids are 8, 5 and 2)

It was a typical Monday at the Lawrence Casa. I didn't shower until 11:00 last night, the dishes had to wait until this morning, and I still can't figure out why the cat keeps spilling her water bowl all over the laundry room floor. I think it's just to piss me off.

So Brittany has a melt down on the way home from school. She's trying to tell me about her day and Clayton is doing his usual routine to be as loud as possible and interrupt her every word. She looks back and screams for him to be quiet and let her talk. I redirect her with the two fingers...her eyes to my eyes...and I tell her that I am ignoring him and that I am hearing every word she's saying, so just to keep talking. She begins again and of course he talks over her...so her eyes get all crazy like and she lets out a scream that I didn't know a human voice could make. This nearly sends me into the ditch at 55 mph. I tell her that's it, I've had it...she's lost her privilege to have a friend play today and that's final. I'll skip the part of the lecture on how many times she's been in trouble for exploding at her siblings this week. This sends her into near convulsions as she sobs about how I should give her a second chance, and that I didn't explain the consequences to her, and how she's just trying to tell me about her day, etc. The sobs get louder and more dramatic as we approach the house...folks we have an all out temper tantrum. I take her backpack and send her to her bed for some alone time. (and so I can hide in the pantry and have a glass of wine...j/k) I start the afternoon routine, sans the little skitzophrenic in the bedroom, and almost forget she's in there. About 20 minutes pass and around the corner peeks a little face. "Mom, can I come out now?" "If you think you can act like an 8 year old and control your temper, then yes." "I think I'll be doing that from now on." She hands me a notebook. She's written I will learn to control my temper 25 times. I try my hardest not to crack up in front of her, but come on...that's just hilarious. She's self-disciplining at 8...I just wanted her to go to her room and get out of my face for a minute but she's punished herself. MESS!

Meanwhile, Clayton takes his new bubbles to the back porch. The specific instructions on how to hold them carefully and not spill them were useless. By the time I go back out to check on him, he's poured half the bottle on the porch, sprinkled grass clippings on top of it and is smearing it around like finger-paints with his feet. (with new white socks on...and don't ask where the shoes were) After we finish the hour of homework the 3rd grade teacher sends home, they all need some outside play time. (where I will drink the second, and much larger glass of wine on the porch...kidding again, but come to think of it this may have helped) Kaylee decides that Clayton needs to learn how to ride her bike so she hoists him up on the bike and sends him down the driveway. He's doing pretty good, and even peddling himself now. I'm reading through the 5,000 papers that came home in the backpacks today when out of the corner of my eye I see Clayton creeping steadily toward the steel fence. The cross support bar is about face level with him, and a clothesline is inevitable at this point. He somehow manages to wrap his arms around the cross bar all Olympic like, and hold on as the bike goes right out from underneath him. He lowers himself back down, turns to look at me, and I think Oh, God...here it comes, he's gonna freak. But instead he says "That was COOOOL!" LakePointe Emergency room may as well keep my file out and ready. It's gonna be a miracle if this kid makes it to kindergarten in one piece.

Another relaxing day of bon bons and soap operas awaits me. Oh, I'm living the dream :)

Dawn,Thanks to you, I saved my car from a stink. I think. I went to a playgroup last night and my kids were well-behaved, so I didn't leave early like I usually do. But with all the playing, my kids didn't eat enough snacks to make it "dinner" and by the time we got home, it was going to be bedtime. Digging through my diaper bag, I found a lone, half full bag of Cheerios -- thankfully, I also had a bag that was holding my son's (clean, just in case) underwear. That's key, because even when my kids DO share, they usually share with the middle seat more than they do with each other. So half the bag went into the new bag and kids got to eat a quarter of a bag of Cheerios for dinner. Hmm. I made the mistake of asking if they were still hungry "SUPER hungry starving, Mom!" came the answer from the 3 year old. Sooo I stopped at McDonalds and got some Chicken Nuggets for them to share.

They were of course just made, so I made an important discovery for all those moms out there whose kids won't touch hot food. If you crank up the AC, you can hold the open box of chicken nuggets up by the air vent while driving and still keep both hands on the wheel. This cools the nuggets to eating temperature in about 3 minutes. The timing may vary, depending upon the strength of your AC (much like your microwave may vary in its cooking power).

I gave my son and daughter each a cooled off chicken nugget as we continued driving. Shockingly, my son dropped his and immediately asked for a new one. Thanks to my doing yoga twice a week (that's my me time!), I have the ability to manipulate my shoulders and arms such that I can reach just about every space on both sides of the back seat to retrieve any lost or thrown item. This truly is a handy skill and well worth the time and money I spend doing yoga.

However, I couldn't reach the nugget, so I gave him a new one. Then I thought. Then I remembered the banana. And the hot dog. And the waffle. And I pulled over and parked, while reassuring my kids that we weren't stopping, I just had to find something. I opened my son's door and discovered the nugget completely under his seat (how he managed that, I have no idea!). I picked it up, blew it off and handed it to him, thus saving myself from a nasty surprise one day.

I was really proud of myself until I realized that I gave him a nugget that had been sitting on the ground for a good five minutes in a 10 year old car. Then I shrugged and decided his immune system could use the boost and reasoned that if I hadn't given it to him, he would have cried because 4 nuggets wouldn't have been enough food. Does that make me a bad parent?

Hi Dawn,I just saw the article about your blog in the Daily Herald - yes, I do ignore my family for 20 minutes a day so I can read the real live newspaper. Not the internet for me...need that black ink on my hands. Anyway, I read a few of your posts and I am laughing my "butt" off! Which is good because after Devil Baby #2, there's way more "butt" than there should be! I love your humor and of course, sarcasm...more moms today need it! It sounds like you are a wonderful mom and have fun while you are at it! Keep it up!!Meagan

I...can't...stop....reading.....You crack me up. That's all there is to it! I stayed up last night until well past my bedtime, reading your archives. I just became a mother for the first time in March of this year. Of course I have become an expert at EVERYTHING now that I'm a Mom.......(echem). And you're thinking 'you poor little naive little girl, you have no idea...' You have given insight into the world of motherhood, that no one, I mean, NO ONE has been able to give me up to this point. Once your book is done, your next endeavor: inventing a cleaning solution that takes butter out of carpet, a childproof cap for the maple syrup, an alarm on your shopping cart that sounds when items not found on your shopping list fall below the M.O.M radar (i.e. Pokemon cards).....oh god, you're going to be a millionaire!!!

With some of those questions I wonder if people just type to be seen? You know the saying talking just to hear yourself talk..I love your blog. It makes me laugh, reminds me of when my kids were young and amazes me constantly how much having three great danes seems like when I had four small kids... however these danes probably won't ever "mature".As far as your page loading.... I beat all your suggestions.. I ran to the grocery store to get the "kids" some dog food as I realized they were out and can't go more than a few hours without buring their heads in the bowls. When I came home.. viola it was ready to read :)thanks for the continual laughs Dawn!Tami

Hey I found out about your blog bc there was an article in the Memphis Paper (Commerical Appeal). Also I work at a radio station and I think they contacted you to do an interviews (WRVR). Anyways love the blog and I think the thing with awards is you are supposed to save the pic and put over on the right. But I could be wrong since I have never a recieved an award. It also might be a way for people to "market" their blogs off yours. For instance (THIS IS NOT FOR REAL) "I made you and award but you cna only get it on my blog "The Daddy Diaries" which is my blog about beinga new husband and daddy. Check it out and don't forget to get your award" I didn't make you an award so don't go looking for it. I hope all that makes sense

I hear ya, Dawn. For me, it's usually apples that I find in the car. Thankfully they haven't taken root and begun growing...because goodness knows there's enough dirt on the floor in the backseat to do so!

And thanks for dropping by my blog, between cleaning up cereal from the floor, changing laundry over and throwing dinner in the crockpot. You the mom! -FrumpMama

Just wanted to say that your blog opens just fine on my machine here at work.....

Also wanted to join you in encouraging people to donate to St Judes. We've made donations to St Judes anytime we've gotten stuff in the mail, even before we had kids, just on the basis of all the good work they do and how scary it is to have sick kids. We support the St Jude's fundraisers when they do them at school as well.

So, we were a little surprised when we got a phone call from them. It was really not a good time, so we didn't talk, but I was a little irked that our good intention had landed us on a calling list. So, I cruised on out to their website, answered their little fundraising survey and added a comment about not wanting to be called. I got a lovely personal email in response, removing me from their calling lists. All in all a class organization....now Sears, don't get me started on Sears.....

On the blog loading time: As soon as you see the blog on your screen, but notice your computer is still thinking (hourglass or the "thinking" bar on the bottom of your screen still moving), just hit the "Stop" button on your browser. Works great and the page stops trying to continually reload.

Its nice to hear you support cancer research but can you throw out there something about Heart Defects? CHDs are the #1 cause of death in infants. Mine was almost one of them. On a happier note you crack me up! I get so excited when I see the blog has been updated!!!

Maybe we should pressure ABC as to when we're going to see Dawn's house and kids on national TV...? All we need to do is go to ABC.com, scroll down to the bottom of their home page and click on "contact ABC" (little gray letters) and you can send them an email.Dawn - if you don't want to publish my comment to encourage others to get this ball rolling, I won't be offended ;)~ Rosie, mother of 5

Hi,I just wanted to tell you that I've been reading your blog and I love it! I have 6 kids too, but my life is not nearly as exciting as yours is...or maybe it's just that I'm not as talented and funny a writer as you are...oh well, whatever the case, keep up the great writing;-)

Wow! You are so right about "just one dollar"!! I feel obligated to go back and donate 1 dollar for every day I've been reading your blog! Thank you for pointing that out and maybe everyone will consider all the joy we've received from your blog, over the past month, to do the same. Many Blessings!!!

Hi Dawn! Great stuff as usual! Re the awards - I know Mr Rogers above is a little sceptical, but they are usually given in good faith - a little way for the bloggy world to say 'thanks' and 'we love you'!

For 'normal' bloggers, (with minimal traffic!) they do of course increase the amount of traffic to your site as other readers will see who gave you the award (if you post their url), and also the urls of the people you are passing it on to. It can be very time consuming, which is why I gave you 2 awards and said not to worry about passing them on, but just stick the award badge on your site if you'd like to, or simply enjoy the fact that another mum was thinking of you!

I love your blog, and could not think of anyone more deserving! I understand if you don't want to start collecting awards though, as I'm sure your site will soon become packed full and will load even slower! Oh, finished my ramble and it's just loaded!

You are an inspiration to me...just because you live your life and tell it like it is. That is a wonderful quality!! I'm a single mom who teaches first grade, yet I can't even compete with most of your stories! You are so blessed.

I know this is completly off subject but I know you reach a huge amount of people and this story is very important. please visit this web site and if you could post it so your reader's could read it too.. it's regarding a pedophile in NV who hurt what is assumed to be a 5 year old girl and the case has gome cold. This little girl needs help and you reach so many people. thank you so much in advance and I love your blog I read it every morning!!

I've been reading your blog daily since your Ebay auction. It's hilarious and I'm thankful to you for the laughter.My oldest son Conner passed away last December from a very rare genetic disorder. He was almost 2 years old.I have another year old boy too.Well, my point was to thank you for your great writing that makes me forget a little bit how much I miss my sweet Conner.You're more than welcome to visit my blog and read about my son's story.

I don't think your blog takes long to load. I use blogspot as well as most of my friends and I don't have this problem with any of them. Your blog is a WEE BIT slower but I cough it up to all the adds you have it. ??? But I am certainly no expert on these matters! Thanks for the laughs! :)

Hey Dawn,I've been reading since I first saw the ebay auction on Digg, and I've become a huge fan! Thank you for the laughs, first and foremost!

I noticed that your page took along time to load, too, as did most everyone else ever to visit, ever.Ever. (Just for good measure! ;) )What I do is let it load to the point were all the posts have appeared, (well at least the first few...) and then just press the "stop" button, and everything works...Dunno, just a tip! It worked for me, so maybe it'll work for you?Keep on writing! And your kids are something else ;) gotta love 'em!~Emily

Like everyone else I love to see your email everyday and can't wait to read it! Loved your answers to the questions. The blog opened fairly fast today and I noticed you hadn't posted any pictures on it. I think the pictures might possibly be the reason it sometimes takes longer to load. (But PLEASE don't stop the pictures, they're worth the wait). I've noticed my toolbar does say picture loading when it takes longer so that's why I'm leaning to that answer. Never have had a blog before so couldn't say for sure. Keep up the good work and keep your sense of humor!

I actually had to buy new spoons this past weekend... not a whole set of flatware, just spoons. I personally think they are hanging out with the missing socks somewhere drinking cheap wine and telling stories about us. ;)

Love your blog! Helps me realize that one Very ADHD 14 year old is not so bad. =)

Dawn,Love the blog and you have truly helped me to see more humor in life with "episodes" with the children. I have even managed to take more pictures of the salt shaker that was completely poured out over the baby and the table; etc. Thanks for all your efforts. Thank you also for your mentioning Sept is Childhood Cancer Month. Next month it will be 3 years since we lost our precious daughter, Janaleah, to AML Leukemia (adult leukemia). We still have two sons (9 1/2 yrs and 18 mos) but the void is still there as she would have just turned 7 in August. St. Judes is a wonderful place to donate, but also let your readers know that every penny donated to Ronald McDonald House is WORTH IT. Having lived in a RMH for 8 months we know first hand. INCREDIBLE place, people and provisions. Thanks again for all your great reading. Looking forward to your book.

I've been reading your blog since my girlfriend sent me your link from e-bay. Hi-lar-i-ous! (My kids think I made up that word, by the way.) I have similar instructions to the nurse at my kids school, since my oldest is at her office every week for some pain, itch, ache, or whatever else he can think up. She called me a couple weeks ago and I said, "OK, what's his problem now." OOPS! My kindergartner had been fallen on in PE and had a terrible bloody nose. You know, the kind that covers your whole face, drips a trail down the hall, and all. His teacher ran into the nurse's office with him, followed by the principal cleaning up the blood trail. Fun!

Blog Award: You display the award in your post (copy image, save to pc, upload as a picture) and most of them have 'rules' to pass them along to others. Some people display awards on their sidebar also. I don't always pass along awards. Some people put their awards in one post, I've seen one blog that had a link on their sidebar titled "the part my mom likes" and it linked to that post.

I want to thank you so much for posting about childhood cancer month and taking donations for St. Jude. My daughter is currently battling a brain tumor and I'm learning there is still so much research that needs to be done for this.

Thank you for posting about Childhood Cancer Awareness Month ... it gets so little attention! We lost our 5 yr old daughter to cancer last year ... and our passion is fighting this disease to prevent other children from hurting like she did.www.PrayForKaitlyn.com

I thought your comment on teaching kids to read in the bathtub was hillarious! I just wanted to add though at my daughter's school the kindergarden class actually has a big plastic bathtub that they read in with pillows & blankets of course instead of water & the kids really enjoy it.

I have a son who is very sensitive also - we have had two hermit crabs die - and even at 14yrs old - he still cries like a wailing woman in Aghganistan !! I am a bad mom - our hermits went in the garbage with a prayer ... didn't want cats to dig it up later !!

I found the link to your blog when I was looking at the Mike and Mandy Show writtings (wrvr radio station in Memphis,Tn) I just have to say youbring humor and life to even the little things and although I dont have children. I do have 3 younger brothers 6,8 and 18 (Dad's crazy since My older brother and I are in our 30's)and nephews plus dating a wonderful man with 2 little girls that I can relate I just have it way easier since I can hand them back at any time and say ok going home now,but reading what you wrote gives me strenght that I could handle problems that could come up in the future.Thanks